


do you have to (let it linger)

by WrongSeason



Category: His Dark Materials (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, absolute nonsense, asriel and marisa are just buds, asriel finds it hilarious, gotta love an oblivious lass, marisa is Big Dumb, mary is just a sweet baby who wants love, pre-maryisa, this is total crack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 22:20:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28535778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WrongSeason/pseuds/WrongSeason
Summary: “Besides,” he leans over and steals one of your emergency biscuits, “you’re only complaining because you’re in love with her.”“I am no-“ you start, and then you’re aware of your face falling. “Oh my god I’m in love with her.”~ Or, Marisa Coulter is an idiot ~
Relationships: Marisa Coulter/Mary Malone
Comments: 11
Kudos: 49





	do you have to (let it linger)

**Author's Note:**

> This is total crack and I don’t know what possessed me. Judge me accordingly. 
> 
> Title is Linger by The Cranberries.

“Marisa Coulter, Mary Malone, you two are a pair.” The lecturer speaks clearly, but you still want to question her words. Group work is one thing, paired quite another. 

Asriel elbows you in the side and you roll your eyes. 

“Why _her_? Of all people! I’d have rather worked with you,” you jest, looking over at him. You rub your thumbs against your temples, urging the newly forming headache away. 

“C’mon, Marisa, she can’t be that bad! She’s always tieing with you for marks, at least you know you’ll get a good grade. You’ve managed to work together civilly before.”

You groan, and drop your head into your hands. Asriel elbows you again, and you look up to see her looking back at you. The two of you formed a somewhat grudging alliance over your undergraduate. Managed to continue it into your Masters. Asriel’s right, if you work with her you’ll get a good grade. In fact, you’ve always gotten your best grades working with her. 

She’s ridiculously perky, though. Smiling at you over the rim of her travel mug. It’s got sunflowers on for god's sake. 

She always has been. Perky and perfect and pretty and - wait. Not pretty. You’re not sure where the thought comes from. 

But you suppose she is, in her own way. With her unruly curls and practical fashion sense. She smiles at almost everyone she passes on campus. Sits by the flower beds in summer and has lunch surrounded by bees. It’d be sweet if she didn’t annoy you so much. 

“Besides,” he leans over and steals one of your emergency biscuits, “you’re only complaining because you’re in love with her.”

“I am no-“ you start, and then you’re aware of your face falling. “Oh my god I’m in love with her.”

Asriel laughs loudly, and your professor scowls at the both of you, before dismissing the crowd of students sitting in her lecture hall.

When he looks at you again, he stops laughing, and becomes concerned. 

“Marisa, don’t tell me you didn’t know.”

“Of course I didn’t!” Bewilderment colours your tone, and you scramble your things together, feeling rather put out of place. 

Asriel slows you with a hand on your arm.

“Kid, you talk about her all the time. It’s always ‘Mary did this, or, Mary did that!’ like it embarrasss you, but it doesn’t. You say it because you think it’s sweet. 

You tell yourself you hate her when in reality you admire her. Anyone can see it. And she fawns over you like a lost puppy. So eager to impress you. I honestly don’t know how you didn’t see it.”

“Well I didn’t, _Asriel_ ,” you grind out his name, wanting this conversation to be over so you can figure out how exactly you missed this. How exactly you convinced yourself that your feelings to her didn’t come from a place of envy but a place of pride. 

“Remember six months into first year? Mary and I were in halls together, and you’d always come round and see me? You told me you had a crush on me and when I asked you why you went off onto that rant-“

“And I told you why I liked you, yes, Asriel, I remember how humiliating it was when you rejected me.”

“Marisa I rejected you because everything you said you liked about me were really things you liked about Mary. You said you liked that I was slightly chaotic, when I’ve never put a foot out of step in my life. Now who do we know that’s the human equivalent of a whirlwind? You said that-” 

You leave the lecture hall, not wanting to finish listening to what he has to say, and not before scowling at him with all the anger you can muster. You want some time and space to yourself. But she’s stood outside, shuffling her feet and struggling with her books. 

“Hi,” her smile is shy and _god damn it you’re a fool._

“Hi,” you return, holding your hands out. “Can I take some of those?”

She shakes her head, clutching the books closer to her chest. 

“I insist.”

She hands you two, keeping the other four to herself, and you find yourself smiling. 

“Would you like to get a coffee?” You question, heading towards the favoured student cafe. 

She follows suit, and you see what Asriel means. Lost puppy indeed. 

“Shall we start planning the project?”

Your step falters, and she eyes you with concern. You didn’t mean to make her think that this is all about work, but you see how you might have in the past. Realise that on other group projects she’s asked you for coffee and you’ve always assumed it was to work. 

“I was thinking more along the lines of…” you pause.

Unhelpfully, she fills in the blanks.

“As friends?”

“I was going to say a date.” You clear your throat, hope she doesn’t notice that your cheeks are burning. The grin that spreads across her face makes you think you haven’t gotten away with it. 

“That would be lovely,” she bumps her shoulder against yours, a gentle acknowledgement of this step into something unknown. You’ve reached the cafe by now, and she sets her stuff down, instructing you to sit. She takes your order, and heads towards the queue. 

Just before she joins, she spins back around to face you. 

“You’re cute when you blush, by the way.” 

Bloody Asriel.


End file.
